<PAGE>

                                                                      EXHIBIT 31

     I, Leonard A. Cullo, Jr., Director and President of H. J. Heinz Finance
Company certify that:

     1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of H. J. Heinz Finance
Company;

     2. Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

     3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this annual report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

     4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

          a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
     disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to
     ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its
     consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
     entities, particularly during the period in which this annual report is
     being prepared;

          b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
     and procedures;

          c) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
     control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
     fourth fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely
     to affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

     5.  The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to
the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of
directors (or persons fulfilling the equivalent functions):

          a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
     or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
     reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record,
     process, summarize, and report financial information; and

          b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
     other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
     control over financial reporting.

Date: July 24, 2003

                                          By: /s/ LEONARD A. CULLO, JR.
                                            ------------------------------------
                                            Name: Leonard A. Cullo, Jr.
                                            Title:  Director and President
<PAGE>

                                                                      EXHIBIT 31

     I, Arthur B. Winkleblack, Director, Vice President and Chief Financial and
Accounting Officer of H. J. Heinz Finance Company certify that:

     1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of H. J. Heinz Finance
Company;

     2. Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

     3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this annual report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

     4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

          a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
     disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to
     ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its
     consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
     entities, particularly during the period in which this annual report is
     being prepared;

          b) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
     and procedures;

          c) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrants internal
     control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
     fourth fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely
     to affect, the registrants internal control over financial reporting; and

     5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on
our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the
registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of
directors (or persons fulfilling the equivalent functions):

          a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
     or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
     reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record,
     process, summarize, and report financial information; and

          b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
     other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
     control over financial reporting.

Date: July 24, 2003

                                          By: /s/ ARTHUR B. WINKLEBLACK
                                            ------------------------------------
                                            Name: Arthur B. Winkleblack
                                            Title:  Director, Vice President and
                                                    Chief
                                                 Financial and Accounting
                                                    Officer